Science

Who Will Win Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears? A.I Predicts

Can Chicago possibly score enough to keep up with Detroit?

Getty Images / Rey Del Rio

The Detroit Lions have a chance to tune up against the lowly Chicago Bears before next week’s big showdown with the division-leading Minnesota Vikings. The Chicago Bears… well, every game with Mitch Trubisky under center is its own reward. A hive mind of about 30 NFL fans predicts the Lions will win Sunday.

The math here is pretty simple: The Lions score a ton of points, including 30 or more four times this season. That’s not a guarantee of victory — they lost one of those games to the New Orleans Saints 52-38 — but it does mean that, generally speaking, any team playing the Lions needs to be able to score too. And Chicago just doesn’t, barely averaging more than two touchdowns per game.

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From their game earlier this year.

Getty Images / Jonathan Daniel

To predict the result of this and other games, Unanimous A.I. used what’s known as swarm intelligence to forecast the week’s slate. About 30 NFL fans worked together as a hive mind to make picks. As you can see in the animation below, each participant controlled a little golden magnet and used it to drag the puck toward the answer they thought was the most likely outcome. As the users saw the puck move toward a particular outcome, it triggers a psychological response. They readjust their decision-making, building toward a consensus. Here’s Unanimous A.I. founder Louis Rosenberg explaining swarm intelligence at a recent TEDx Talk.

Unanimous A.I. has made some scarily accurate predictions in the past using swarm intelligence, as our previous article explains. For instance, the swarm went a perfect 7-0 in its most recommended picks for a recent English Premier League slate.

Unanimous A.I.

The hive mind likes Detroit to win here, though only with low confidence and 78 percent brainpower behind the prediction.

Unanimous A.I.

The hive mind likes the Lions to win by four to six points, with 80 percent brainpower behind that prediction. Vegas currently favors Detroit by three points.

The game kicks off 1 p.m. Eastern Sunday on Fox.

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